Ramallah: The Palestinian NGO Network called on the international community to exert immediate pressure on the Israeli occupation to halt its systematic violations against the education sector in the occupied Palestinian Territory, ensure students and teachers can reach their schools, and cease targeting educational institutions.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, the Network issued a statement highlighting that the start of the 2026/2027 academic year coincides with an escalation in Israeli occupation measures and an expansion of colonists' attacks across the occupied Palestinian Territory. It pointed to Israeli occupation forces' raids on several villages and towns, obstruction of students' access to their schools, and raids on schools on the first day of the academic year, as occurred in Huwwara and Burqa in Nablus Governorate.
The statement further noted that Israeli occupation forces ordered teachers at one school to remove the Palestinian flag from the school's flagpole, as part of measures targeting national symbols and Palestinian identity within educational institutions. It also highlighted that 10 schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in camps in the northern West Bank, including Nur Shams, Tulkarm, and Jenin, remain closed, while the siege of Qusra town and the prevention of students from reaching their schools continue.
The Network warned of the risk of the education process collapsing in the Gaza Strip as the scheduled start of the academic year on September 16 approaches, amid a severe shortage of classrooms, educational facilities, and teachers due to widespread destruction. Current plans include operating around 700 in-person learning points, in addition to 25 temporary schools. Over 541,000 students in the Gaza Strip face shortages of classrooms and teachers, and difficulties reaching learning sites due to the siege and Israeli measures.
The statement affirmed that the education sector in the Gaza Strip has been subjected to widespread destruction targeting schools, universities, and educational facilities, threatening the right to education of hundreds of thousands of students. The Network called on the international community to continue the international campaign to save schools and rehabilitate those that can be restored, particularly in the Gaza Strip, as well as to protect UNRWA schools in the northern West Bank.
It also described the targeting of education and the prevention of students from reaching their schools as an extension of violations and crimes against the Palestinian people, and an attempt to impose a reality based on depriving generations of education. The Network reiterated its categorical rejection of any interference in the Palestinian educational curriculum, warning against attempts to distort history and interfere with Palestinian national identity.
The statement stressed the importance of protecting the Palestinian narrative, fostering a sense of national belonging among generations, and confronting forms of colonial intervention in the national identity of the Palestinian people. It emphasized the need to preserve the Palestinian people's cultural heritage and strengthen the presence of national identity in the educational process.
Amid the challenging economic climate and the recent decision to reduce instructional days in public schools, the Network highlighted the necessity of defending teachers' union and financial rights while reaffirming the importance of preserving the student's right to education to guarantee learning continuity.
The Network noted that more than 846,000 students and around 54,000 teachers returned to their schools at the start of the academic year, describing this milestone as a 'message of hope and life for the Palestinian people,' a direct challenge to the Israeli occupation, and proof that the will of a people cannot be broken.